Door-opening mechanism



J. LINVILL.

DOOR OPENING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3| 1920.

' 1,379,456. 4 Patented May 24, 1921.

2 SHEEN-SHEET L J. LINVILL.

DOOR OPENING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3,1920

1379, 156. Patented May 24,1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- a/ 7/1 Z/Nm A.

STATES JOSIAH LINVILL, F BETHANY, MISSOURI DOOR-OPENIN G MECHANISM.

Application filed August 3, 1920.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

it known that I, JOSIAH LINvrLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beth any in the county of Ha risen and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Door-Opening Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vehicle opera-ted openers for garage, barn doors and the like.

The object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient door opening means which may he installed at moderate expense and which ill automatically operate to open ti doors of a garage or other building by pressure of a wheel of an approaching vehicle and to close he doors after the vehicle leaves the building.

Another object is to so construct such an opener that the passage of the front wheels of a vehicle over the tread member of the opener will actuate 't to open the garage door and then so set said member that the passage of the rear wheels thereover willhave no effect on the door, this passage of tie rear wheels setting the operator or tread member so that when the vehicle passes out of the garage it will close the door.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described and then specifically pointed out in the claims. and in the drawings illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the in vention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 represents a plan view of a pair of swinging doors with this improved opener shown applied, parts being broken out and in. section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the doors and the platform arranged in front of them with the opener shown in side elevation.

3 is an enlarged detafi sectional view taken on the line of Fig. 1.

l is a detail side elevation showing a slightly modified form of the invention.

Fig. is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 6 is a plan view partly in section showing the application of the invention to a sliding door. and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation thereof with the door shown closed.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 a pair of. swinging doors 1 and 2 is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 24;, 1921.

Serial No. 401,025.

shown mounted on upper and lower pintles 3 and 4. The lower pintle iextends through a' platform P which is arranged in advance of the garage or building closed by the doors 1 and 2 and carries below said platform a bevel pinion 5. This pinion 5 is suitably supported in a bracket 4 and meshes with a bevel gear 6 carried by the front end of a shaft 7 arranged longitudinally below the platform P near one side thereof. It is to be understood that this mechanism is duplicated for the two doors but as it is exactly alike one only is described in detail.

A bevel pinion 8 is carried by the front end of the shaft 7 and meshes with a bevel gear 9 carried by a shaft 10 arranged transversely under the platform P at its front end, said shaft 10 being supported in suitable bearings 11 shown clearly in Fig. l.

Thetransverse shaft 10 carries at longitudinally spaced points, pairs of diametrically opposite lugs 12 and 12". Each pair of these lugs is inclosed within a sleeve-like casing 13 having projecting upwardly therefrom an arm 14 which extends through an opening 15 in the platform P. Each of these sleeves 13 is provided at diametrically op posite points on its inner face with recesses 16 which are arranged concentric with the bore of the sleeve and are adapted to receive the lugs 12 and 12 being of a length considerably greater than the thickness of said lugs for a purpose presently to be described.

Each sleeve 13 is supported on springs 17 and 18 which are designed to return the sleeve to initial position after a vehicle has )fiSSGd over its arm 14 and depressed and turned the sleeve. The distance between the arms 14 which are designed to be positioned in the path of a vehiclepassing into or leaving the building closed by the doors 1 and 2 should be fully equal to the distance occupied by the doors when swung open and the front portion of the vehicle in order that the opening of the doors may be accomplished by an approaching vehicle without interference.

When an automobile or other vehicle approaches the garage closed by the doors 1 and 2 it must be properly guided to cause the front wheels thereof to engage the upstanding arms 14 and depress them in a direction toward the garage thereby turning the sleeves and through engagement of the lugs 12 with the end walls of the recesses 16 as shown in Fig. 3 a partial revolution Y Imounted on said shaft 7.

will be imparted to shaft 10 which through gears 9 and 8 rotate shafts 7 at opposite sides of the platform and open the doors 1 and 2.

Owing to the mounting of the sleeves on the springs 17 and 18 when the front wheels of the vehicle pass over the arms 1% said sleeve will be rotated outwardly and returnthe arms 14 into upright position. This return I of the sleeve positions the recesses 16 therein in relation to the lugs 12 and '12 so that when the rear wheels of the vehicle pass over said arms 14 the sleeves will be rocr ed without affecting the shaft 10 and will again "return to upright position after the rear wheels pass over them which is accomplished by the springs 17 and 18 in the manner above described.

lVhen the vehicle passes out of the garage the wheels engaging the arms l twill' rock the sleeves forwardly thereby reversing the rotation of shaft 10 and closing the doors 1 and 2;

In the form'shown in Figs. 1 and 5 thepintle 1 is engaged with a door it is designed to operate at a point eccentric to the hinge of the door and consequently it will be necessary to permit the gear 6 carried by shaft 8 with which the pinion 5 on said pintle meshes to have a sliding movement. This gearfi? is keyed to slide on the shaft? and is pressed normally forward by a coiled spring 19. which is arranged between the rear. face of the gear 6 and a collar 20 adjustably It'will thus be seen that owing to the spring 19 the gear 6 andpinion 5 will be always held in mesh and yet the door will be permitted to swing into open and closed position by the turning of shaft 7.

I In the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7 a single sliding door 23 is shown having a rack bar 21 secured to its lower edge with which meshes a cog 22 carried by a suitably supported stub shaft 2a. This shaft 2 also carries a cog 20 which meshes with gear 19. on shaft 7. Otherwise the mechanism is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

" It will be obvious that when shaft 7 is rotated.by the passage of the vehicle over plates l i motion will be imparted through f gear 19, cogs 20 and 22 to rack 21 and thereby open door 23. It will of course be understood that with a single sliding door 23 one i shaft 7 only will be necessary, but when two doors are used the shaft 7 and its'mechanism V will be duplicated.

V The preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the drawings and set forth in the specification, but it will be understood that any modifications within the scope of the claims may be made in the recesses'beinp' of a len thgreater than the.

O b w width of the lugs'to permit the sleeve to move independently of the shaft, an arm extending radially from said sleeveand adapted to be positioned in the path of a passing vehicle, springs supportlng said sleeve and operable to return it to initial position after actuation, and door actuating means connected with said shaft operable by the depression of said arm.

7 2. A door, opener of comprising a rotatably' mounted shaft, a connection adapted to be attached to a door connected to be opened by the turning of said shaft, said shaft having oppositely extended lugs thereon, a sleeve mounted on the shaft and encompassing said lugs, said sleeve having recesses on its inner face to receive the lugs and an arm projecting radially therefrom to be positioned'in the path of the vehicle approaching the door to be opened,-

and resilient meansv for normally holding the sleeve with its arm in upright position and adapted to return the sleeve to this position after actuation.

3. The combination with a door; of an opener therefor comprising a rotatably mounted shaft, a connection between said shaft and door whereby the door isactuated by the turning of the shaft, lugs extending.

radially'from said shaft at diametrically opposite points, a sleeve mounted to turn on said shaft'and encompassing said lugs, said sleeve having recesses in its inner face to receiv the lugs, said recesses being of a length greater than the width of the lugs to.

permit the sleeve to move independently of the shaft, and an arm projecting radially from the sleeve and adapted to'be positioned in the path of a vehicle approaching the door to be opened. and means for returning the sleeve to initial position after it has'been actuated by the depression of its arm.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature hereto.

Jos'ran LINVILL.

the class described- Ill") 

